The price of longevity
by Laguna-Chan
Summary: What is the price one must pay for longevity? What is the price one must pay for longevity for others? When the Merciful Goddess can no longer stand being alone after the deaths of her most beloved treasures, just how far will she go to bring them back?


I don't own Saiyuki...but of course there is such a thing as borrowing

This story will be centered around everyone but probably more so around either Homura, Kougaiji, or Hakkai…. This story will kinda be based off some ideas I got from Final Fantasy Tactics or something similar so…yeah. There will also be character classes and I tried to match them accordingly.

Sanzo: Monk (duh)

Goku: Geomancer

Gojyo: Lancer

Hakkai: Black Mage/Chemist

Kougaiji: Archer/Summoner

Dokudakuji: Knight

Homura: Mediator/Oracle

Zenon: Knight/Rouge

Shien: Calculator

Nataku: Holy Knight

Kami-sama: White Mage/Shaman

Hazel: Paladin/Necromancer

The price of longevity

It was time.

The Merciful Goddess walked to the center of the pitch-black room, the only light radiating from the alter that glowed dimly in the center of the abyss. As she reached it, she could not suppress the sad little smile that found it's way to her lips. It had been too long since she last saw Them. So many years had passed since those fateful days of destiny. And then she was left all alone. Everything had come and gone like the golden leaves of the fall, having radiated their beauty and then dying out to fall to the ground and crumble with age. Yes, not even They were capable of out running time. She sighed then. Perhaps it was her loneliness that led her to do this? She placed her hand upon the alter and the walls around her slowly began to open, letting in a pale greenish-blue glow that settled all around her. No one was ever allowed in here. No one should ever find out what terrible things she did when she was alone. They would hate her for what she's done.

The shadows danced softly across her features, deepening the lines there and making her seem older. Sadder. As the walls finally reached their destination and slid into hiding, she found that she could not with hold the tears that sprang to her eyes and gently glided down her face. How was she supposed to cope? She was driven to commit such a heinous crime for the sole desire of companionship. She had loved them all for so long, she couldn't stand it as she watched them all die one at a time, each death a segregated dagger dipped in poison that killed her slowly. She turned and looked up and around her at the results of her forbidden acts of taboo. All around her, the green-blue liquid bubbled in the glass tanks that held her most beloved and cherished treasures. She had loved them all, so how was she to stand by and watch as they left everything behind one by one? This was not an act of treason against heaven, but an act of love! She had captured their souls one at a time and hid them away, stashing them in a secret sacred item that was said to hold spirits. She glanced over her shoulder behind her to the shelves that held a number of soul dolls perched upon them. Her lovely little doll collection.

Just like the men before and all around her. Her beautiful dolls put on display behind glass, cold and lifeless. Soulless. Tears sprang up anew and trailed down her soft, pale cheeks to drip onto the floor. Had she done the right thing? The Merciful Goddess looked up again peering into the glass caskets that held her beloveds for so long now. They had never gotten to experience heaven for a second time. She hadn't allowed it. It would have been too painful for both them and her self. Yes, they were free souls who would have been crushed beneath that strenuous hell called heaven. This way she could see them all she wanted. But seeing them alive was something she wanted even more. To hear them again. To feel them again. She stepped forward and gently, timidly placed her hand against the glass of the tank that held a familiar face within. _He looks so peaceful and calm like this_. She mused. Was there really peace after death? She didn't know. She looked to the blonds face again as if it held the answers she sought. Nothing. Casting a glance around the room, she came to the conclusion that perhaps now was the time. She would be found out soon and that would be a catastrophe all its own. She could not allow such a thing to transgress with her precious dolls in such a delicate condition. But, perhaps it was finally time. After all, that was the whole reason for her coming here.

Turning, the Merciful Goddess paced to one of the shelves and chose a doll, one of her favorites with its short, unruly raven hair and it's intense, deep multi colored eyes. Then she chose another, blonde doll with amethyst for eyes that reflected the soul that resided within it. Yes, these two would do. She made her way back towards the glass casings that separated her from her loved ones and as she reached her destination, she paused to think. If the incantations worked this time… then she would have to waist no time in sending them to the lower world to prevent detection from above. She debated if she should leave their memories intact. It sounded reasonable and it would take less work then it would to try and have them remember through a series of déjà vu. Or worse. Have them injure themselves trying to remember from the pesky little side affect of her spells and experiments. Yes, perhaps it would be better to give them their memories of their past lives. It would be easier that way wouldn't it?

Another sigh escaped past her lips as she decided on the best course of action. She had waited fourteen excruciating long years for her project to be completed with out flaws or any other problems. The bodies had to be reconstructed with DNA collected from their original ones and that was a chore in its self for her especially when trying not to get caught. At least the soul gathering had been somewhat easier. Except the actual doll making part of course. The things she was willing to do for her precious treasures. But now was the time to awaken said dolls and to restore them completely. She just hoped that all twelve made it without a repeat of earlier failures….


End file.
